JPH09108112A - Hot water storage tank structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent air bubbles from being sucked into a pump, to perform a continuous operation and to prevent the constitution and ability of respective members from being limited. SOLUTION: In the inside of a hot water storage tank 58, a partition plate 86 for covering the suction port 84 of a suction pipe 72a is disposed on a side wall 82 to which the suction pipe 72a of a circulation pump is communicated and connected. By the partition fate 86, the inside of the hot water storage tank 58 is demarkated into a first area 88 where a heater 60 faces and a second area 90 where the suction port 84 faces and fine air bubbles generated on the surface of the heater 60 are prevented from being sucked through the suction pipe 72a into the circulation pump. The length dimension of the partition plate 86 is set to be longer than the length dimension of the heater 60 and shorter than the internal length dimension of the hot water storage tank 58. Thus, a communicating part for communicating the first area 88 and the second area 90 is formed on the end part side of the partition plate 86 away from the suction port 84.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hot water storage tank structure in which water stored in a hot water storage tank is heated by a built-in heater and the resulting hot water is sucked into a pump through a suction pipe connected to the tank. It is about.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a beverage dispenser for pouring hot water heated to a required temperature or a heated beverage diluted with hot water to a concentrated raw material, a hot water storage tank is provided therein, and a heater arranged inside the hot water storage tank It is configured to heat the water in the tank to the required temperature. Further, a suction pipe of a pump is connected to the hot water storage tank so that the hot water in the tank is sucked into the pump through the suction pipe by driving the pump, and the hot water in the tank is sucked through the discharge pipe of the pump. It is designed to be supplied to.

[0003]

Since the beverage dispenser uses hot water of about 90 ° C., when the water is heated by the heater, the surface of the heater locally reaches the boiling temperature, which is why Micro bubbles were generated. Since these minute bubbles float in the tank, if the suction pipe of the pump is arranged close to the heater,
The minute bubbles are sucked into the pump through the suction pipe, and when they are accumulated, the pump becomes idle and there is a drawback that the supply of hot water to the pouring nozzle is interrupted. Therefore, when idle operation of the pump occurs, it is necessary to stop the pump once to discharge the air accumulated in the pump, and it is pointed out that continuous operation cannot be performed.

In order to prevent the suction of fine air bubbles generated on the surface of the heater into the pump, the connection between the suction pipe of the pump and the hot water storage tank is provided below the heater installation position or the heater installation position. It is common practice to connect the suction pipe to a hot water storage tank at a position away from the pump and to select a pump with a weak suction force. However, in this case, since the arrangement position and ability of each member are limited, there is a problem that the degree of freedom in design is low and the hot water storage tank itself becomes large because the members are arranged separately.
In addition, if a pump having a weak suction force is selected, the capacity of the beverage dispenser itself may be reduced.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned drawbacks inherent in the above-mentioned prior art, and was proposed in order to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks by preventing bubbles from being sucked into a pump. It is an object of the present invention to provide a hot water storage tank structure which enables a continuous operation and has a large degree of freedom in design without restricting the configuration or capacity of each member.

[0006]

In order to solve the above problems and achieve the intended object, the present invention provides a heater which is disposed inside a hot water storage tank and heats a liquid stored in the tank. Connected to the hot water storage tank via a suction pipe,
In a hot water storage tank structure including a pump for sucking the liquid in the tank through the suction pipe, a first region facing the heater and a second region facing the suction port of the suction pipe are provided inside the hot water storage tank. A partition plate that defines the
It is characterized in that the first region and the second region are configured to communicate with each other via a communication portion provided at a position separated from the suction port.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Next, a hot water storage tank structure according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings with reference to preferred embodiments. It should be noted that in the embodiment, a case will be described in which the hot water storage tank structure of the present invention is adopted as a beverage dispenser, and therefore, a schematic structure of the beverage dispenser will be described first.

As shown in FIG. 1, a beverage dispenser 10
Is composed of an upper main body 12 and a lower main body 14 formed of a plate material such as stainless steel in a box shape. Inside the upper main body 12, a storage box 16 having a heat insulating structure is arranged. As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality (three in the embodiment) of concentrated raw material containers 18 storing concentrated raw materials are accommodated inside the storage 16 in parallel along the width direction. Each concentrated raw material container 1
The lower part of 8 is connected to a pouring mechanism 22 equipped with a suction type gear pump 20 and a beverage pouring nozzle 24, and concentrates a required amount of pouring from the concentrated raw material container 18 through the pouring mechanism 22. The raw material is supplied to the beverage pouring nozzle 24. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, on the front surface of the heat-insulating door 26 which is arranged on the front surface of the upper main body 12 so as to be openable and closable, a number (three in the embodiment) of pouring switches 28 corresponding to the pouring mechanism 22 are provided. The gear pump 20 of the corresponding pouring mechanism 22 and the pouring valve 30 which will be described later are operated by pressing each switch 28.

The storage 16 includes a liquid tank 32, an evaporator 34 arranged along the inner surface of the liquid tank 32, and a compressor 36 and a condenser 38 connected to the evaporator 34. A cooling device 40 basically configured is arranged.
A liquid (eg, tap water) used for cooling water is stored in the liquid tank 32 in a substantially full state so that the evaporator 34 can be immersed therein. The liquid is circulated and supplied to the evaporator 34 to be cooled by an ice layer frozen around the evaporator 34. Further, inside the liquid tank 32, a heat exchange tube 42 formed in a coil shape is installed at a position separated from the evaporator 34 by a required distance. A water supply pipe 44 communicating with an external water source is communicatively connected to the inlet side of the heat exchange pipe 42, and an outlet side thereof is connected to the water supply pipe 44.
One end of the cold water supply pipe 46 is communicatively connected.

The cold water supply pipe 46 is provided with a first cold water pipe 48 communicating with the beverage pouring nozzle 24 dedicated to the cold water located on the left side in FIG. 2 and a cold / hot water supply pipe 50 for the central beverage pouring nozzle 24. A second cold water pipe 54 that communicates with a three-way valve 52 that communicates therewith is connected. A second hot water pipe 56, which will be described later, communicates with the three-way valve 52, and by switching the three-way valve 52, either cold water or hot water can be selectively supplied to the central beverage dispensing nozzle 24. Has been done. In addition, the spout valve 3 is connected to the first cold water pipe 48 and the cold / hot water supply pipe 50.
0 is inserted in each, and the pouring valve 30 is opened by pressing the corresponding pouring switch 28, and cold water that has been heat-exchanged by the heat exchange pipe 42 and cooled to the required temperature is delivered to the beverage pouring nozzle 24. It is being supplied. That is, the concentrated stock solution supplied from the concentrated stock solution container 18 to the beverage pouring nozzle 24 is diluted with cold water, and the cooled beverage is discharged into a cup (not shown) facing the beverage pouring nozzle 24 below. Supplied.

The beverage dispenser 10 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 3, a hot water storage tank 58 for storing a required amount of hot water is provided inside the lower body 14. A heater 60 is provided at the inner bottom of the hot water storage tank 58, and a branch water supply pipe 62 branched from the water supply pipe 44 communicates with the upper portion of the heater 60 to open a water supply valve 64 provided in the branch water supply pipe 62. Thus, a required amount of water is supplied into the hot water storage tank 58. Further, an upper limit water level switch 66 and a lower limit water level switch 68 are vertically separated from each other inside the hot water storage tank 58, and the water supply valve 64 is controlled to open and close so as to maintain the water level between the switches 66 and 68. A temperature sensor 70 is provided inside the hot water storage tank 58, and the temperature of the hot water is set to a set temperature by performing ON-OFF control of the heater 60 according to the temperature detected by the sensor 70.
It is set to maintain the temperature (for example, 90 ° C.). When the lower limit water level switch 68 detects the water level, the heater 60
It is set to stop the idle cooking and to stop the circulation pump 72 described later.

A suction pipe 72a of a circulation pump 72 is connected to the bottom of the hot water storage tank 58, and a discharge pipe 72b of the pump 72 is connected to an upper portion of the hot water storage tank 58. Further, in the discharge pipe 72b, a first hot water pipe 74 communicating with the beverage dispensing nozzle 24 dedicated to hot water located on the right side in FIG. 2 and a second hot water pipe 56 communicating with the three-way valve 52.
And are connected. A pouring valve 30 is inserted in the first hot water pipe 74, and by pressing the corresponding pouring switch 28, the pouring valve 30 is opened, and the hot water in the hot water storage tank 58 is supplied to the beverage pouring nozzle 24. Are configured to be supplied to. Then, the concentrated stock solution supplied from the concentrated stock solution container 18 to the beverage dispensing nozzle 24 is diluted with warm water so that the heated beverage is dispensed. The three-way valve 5
When the corresponding pouring switch 28 is pressed in a state in which 2 is switched and the cold / hot water supply pipe 50 and the second hot water pipe 56 are in communication, the hot water in the hot water storage tank 58 is supplied to the beverage pouring nozzle 24 in the center. .

The circulation pump 72 is set to always drive when the beverage dispenser 10 is powered on, regardless of the ON-OFF state of the pouring switch 28 that controls the opening and closing of the pouring valve 30. That is, the pouring valve 3
When 0 is closed, the hot water stored in the hot water storage tank 58 is configured to circulate between the suction pipe 72a, the pump 72, the discharge pipe 72b, and the hot water storage tank 58. This keeps the pipeline system warm,
It is possible to prevent the pouring temperature of the hot water from becoming uneven due to the cooling of the pipeline system. The liquid tank 3
2 to the drain pipe 78 that is connected to the drain pipe 76 through the drain valve 76,
Overflow pipe 80 installed inside hot water storage tank 58
Are connected to communicate with each other, and hot water stored above the opening of the flow pipe 80 can be discharged to the outside of the machine through a drain pipe 78.

Inside the hot water storage tank 58, as shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, a suction pipe 72 is connected to a side wall 82 to which a suction pipe 72a of the circulation pump 72 is connected.
A partition plate 86 is provided to cover the suction port 84 of 2a.
The partition plate 86 allows the inside of the hot water storage tank 58 to be exposed to the first region 88 exposed by the heater 60 and the suction port 84.
And the second region 90 facing each other, the minute bubbles generated on the surface of the heater 60 are circulated through the suction pipe 72a.
2 is configured to prevent being sucked. Further, the length dimension of the partition plate 86 is set to be longer than the length dimension of the heater 60 and shorter than the inner length dimension of the hot water storage tank 58. As a result, on the end side (right end in FIG. 5) of the partition plate 86 that is separated from the suction port 84, the communication portion 92 that communicates the first region 88 and the second region 90 where the heater 60 is not located in proximity is formed. doing. That is, since the hot water in the first region 88 heated by the heater 60 can circulate in the second region 90 via the communication part 92, both regions 8
The temperature of hot water in 8,90 can be kept the same. Further, since the heater 60 and the communication portion 92 are sufficiently separated from each other, the minute bubbles generated on the surface of the heater 60 are communicated with each other by the communication portion 92.
Does not flow into the second region 90. The connection between the discharge pipe 72b and the hot water storage tank 58 is set at an upper position close to the connection between the suction pipe 72a and the hot water storage tank 58, as shown in FIG. The air bubbles generated by the discharged hot water are generated by the circulation pump 72.
It is designed to prevent being sucked into.

[0015]

Next, the operation of the beverage dispenser according to the embodiment will be described below. When water is supplied to the hot water storage tank 58 and the water level is maintained between the upper and lower water level switches 66 and 68, the heater 60 is energized to heat the water. The circulation pump 72
Since the beverage dispenser 10 is driven when the power is turned on, the water in the hot water storage tank 58 circulates through the suction pipe 72a, the circulation pump 72, and the discharge pipe 72b.

When the heater 60 heats the water to a temperature close to the set temperature, the hot water on the surface of the heater 60 locally reaches the boiling temperature to generate fine bubbles, which float in the tank. In this case, the partition plate 86 shields the first region 88 in which the heater 60 is arranged and the second region 90 facing the suction port 84 of the suction pipe 72a. Moreover, the communication portion 9 that communicates the first region 88 and the second region 90.
As shown in FIG. 6, since No. 2 is separated from the suction port 84, it is ensured that the minute bubbles generated in the heater 60 flow into the second region 90 and are sucked into the circulation pump 72 from the suction port 84. Can be prevented. In the heater 60, when the amount of heat or the size is increased, bubbles are likely to be generated, but even if the bubbles are generated, they are not sucked into the circulation pump 72. Therefore, the heater 60 having a large amount of heat and size is used.
Can be adopted, and the ability of the beverage dispenser 10 can be improved.

Further, in the structure in which the hot water in the hot water storage tank 58 is circulated through the hot water supply pipe system like the beverage dispenser 10 of the embodiment, the hot water circulated by the circulation pump 72 is discharged from the discharge pipe 72b. Bubbles are generated in the tank by the impact when the hot water storage tank 58 is discharged. However, since the hot water discharged from the discharge pipe 72b is discharged to the first region 88 defined by the partition plate 86, the bubbles generated in the region 88 flow into the second region 90. This can be reliably prevented by the partition plate 86. That is, since it is possible to prevent the minute bubbles generated in the heater 60 and the bubbles generated by the circulation of hot water from being sucked into the circulation pump 72 via the suction pipe 72a, the circulation pump 72 is not idled. , Can be operated continuously. In the case where the hot water in the hot water storage tank 58 is circulated by the circulation pump 72 as in the embodiment, the heater 60, the suction port 84 of the suction pipe 72a and the discharge port of the discharge pipe 72b are close to each other. It can be arranged and can be compactly assembled as a whole.

When the pouring switch 28 corresponding to the beverage pouring nozzle 24 dedicated to the hot water is pushed, the pouring valve 30 inserted in the first hot water pipe 74 is opened, whereby the circulating pump 7 is opened.
The hot water flowing through the second discharge pipe 72b is the beverage dispensing nozzle 2
4, the concentrated stock solution supplied to the beverage dispensing nozzle 24 via the dispensing mechanism 22 is diluted, and the heated beverage is dispensed from the nozzle 24. As described above, since no bubbles flow into the circulation pump 72, a fixed amount of hot water can always be pumped and supplied to the beverage pouring nozzle 24. Further, the idle operation of the circulation pump 72 does not occur, so that the hot water cannot be poured out, and the efficiency reduction due to the interruption of the operation of the pump 72 can be prevented. Then, when the pressing of the pouring switch 28 is released, the pouring valve 30 is closed, whereby the warm water sent from the circulation pump 72 to the discharge pipe 72b is returned to the hot water storage tank 58.

The beverage dispenser of the embodiment has a structure capable of selectively supplying a cooled beverage such as juice and a heated beverage such as tea or soup, but supplies only a heated beverage such as tea or soup. It is possible to apply the present invention also to the device. Further, in the embodiment, the length of the partition plate is set shorter than the internal length of the hot water storage tank to form the communication portion, but the internal length of the partition plate and the hot water storage tank are set to be the same. Alternatively, the communication portion may be formed by forming a through hole in the partition plate.

[0020]

As described above, according to the hot water storage tank structure of the present invention, the micro bubbles generated from the surface of the heater are not sucked into the pump, so that the pump does not run dry. Therefore, there is no need to interrupt the operation of the pump, and continuous operation can be performed. Further, since the suction pipe of the pump can be arranged in the vicinity of the heater, it can be compactly assembled and the degree of freedom in design can be increased. Moreover, since a pump with a large output can be adopted,
You can improve your ability. Further, since the structure of the hot water storage tank is simple, there is an advantage that it can be provided at low cost.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a beverage dispenser according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a beverage dispenser according to an embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a hot water storage tank provided inside a lower body of the beverage dispenser according to the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a hot water storage tank provided inside a lower main body of the beverage dispenser according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing the hot water storage tank according to the embodiment with a part thereof cut away.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a hot water storage tank according to an embodiment with a part thereof cut away.

FIG. 7 is a vertical sectional front view showing the hot water storage tank according to the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

58 hot water storage tank, 60 heater, 72 circulation pump, 7
2a Suction tube 84 Suction port, 86 Partition plate, 88 First region, 90 Second
Area, 92 communication parts

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A heater (60) which is disposed inside a hot water storage tank (58) and heats a liquid stored in the tank (58).
And a pump (72) which is connected to the hot water storage tank (58) for communication via a suction pipe (72a) and sucks the liquid in the tank through the suction pipe (72a), A partition that defines a first region (88) facing the heater (60) and a second region (90) facing the suction port (84) of the suction pipe (72a) inside the hot water storage tank (58). A plate (86) is provided, and the first region (88) and the second region (90) are connected to the suction port (84).
A hot water storage tank structure characterized by being configured to communicate with each other via a communication portion (92) provided at a position separated from.